Mautofied Community

How can you trade vehicles with someone 2000 miles away using a carrier but trusting that both trucks will be shipped at the same time so you can mail signed pink slips and what not? Thanks for any advice.

i wouldnt do it. unless you know the person really well. there are too many scams going on. i wouldnt do it unless we met in person and went from there. thats just my .02 though

There's gotta be a way or a company that does this. I've only made one trade on this site and it was 350 miles away so I towed my truck there and picked up the new one. I really want to make a trade happen but I can only see it being worth it if I paid for shipping on both trucks. But of course I would want to ensure that his truck was loaded up before I paid for it and that it is in the condition I was told/ shown on a video of it. Of course I would also want that person to know I was ready to go ahead and ship my truck too cause I'm sure they wouldn't want some carrier company coming over and loading up there ride. Mautofied should have verified accounts for people who are legit about what they have and what they say they'll do.

Lots of communication and find a reputable shipper. See if anyone on this site lives near the truck and can play 3rd party. 2000 Miles can be a huge deal breaker for alot of people. I've found the more I talk to someone, the more I know how it's gonna happen or not. Most bank transfers can be put "on hold" till both parties are happy. My 2 cents ..........

From my many many experiences with buying and selling sight unseen it's a very iffy situation. I have been burned plenty of times by owners that claimed "it was good to go" but it was a complete turd box when I got it. The only things I recommend are to have recent pictures from EVERY SINGLE ANGLE POSSIBLE. down the sides of the car inside trunk engine door jams, etc etc. Picture of vin plate. Tire tread. Each individual wheel. And then a piece of paper with the date placed in multiple spots when the owner takes picture. But then thats ony aesthetics that you are covering. Drivability is a totally different story. Does it run good? Does it leak fluids? Does the ac work? Electrical issues? Are there any "patch" repairs to cover up major flaws like tranny fluid in the oil to cover up a knock.. Etc etc.

I have been on mautofied for years obviously.. I'm an admin. My advice is don't trade unless you can physically inspect it or if you know without a shadow of a doubt what you are getting. There are plenty of shady people out there that love to dump their problems off on someone else. It has happened to me plenty of times. My last 4 or 5 sight unseen trade or purchase deals all had hiccups. Some worse than the other. You get to a point to where you expect it. In the end if you do end up trading and you get burned.... You burned yourself for going through with a trade deal that you didn't inspect the vehicle yourself ahead of time.. So it would be your own fault. That is all there is too it. There is usually always a risk involved.

A vehicle 2000 miles away would cost you about $1000-1500 (for only one vehicle) in one direction.

There are no third party inspectors. Only friends and family that you have in th arear or have the owner take it to a mechanic shop that you specify and you pay to have the vehicle thoroughly inspected and have them tell you what they have concluded.

Or meet half way...

Those are the options you are limited to.

The shipping company doesn't care what it looks like, or if it runs, or if the ac works, etc... They just pick it up and drop it off and collect some money.




Like I said... Sigh unseen is always a risk.. Never a certainty.. I wouldn't recommend it unless you dont mind potentially forking out for repairs on things that the person you just got it from thought were no big deal. in the end you are only to blame for not covering your own ass.

Thanks, I wish there was a better way. I think if it does happen there would need to be a lot of Youtube video's involved. And yeah I'm prepared to shell out $2,000 on shipping alone.

It's called a plane ticket. Sure it costs more money, but to fly out (or you could always take a snail bus. Lol) and make a deal in person is really the only sure, smart way to do it. If they want to see yours, then they would have to do the same. Simple as that. If I were expecting to do it, I would be there when they are loaded onto the truck and I'd be back home when they arrived.
I bought a tractor a few years back from Michigan. I flew up, talked and inspected it, arranged a transport for the next day (local car dealers are usually pretty handy to help track down a truck headed my way), loaded it, flew back, and the next day, picked it up as the truck arrived at another dealership.
Pretty funny how there was a tractor loaded on a truck with a bunch of brand new Hondas. Lol.

Redirwol1 is right. You are looking at a few thousand dollars just to ship one vehicle! I was trying to trade a Hayabusa to a guy in Iowa a few months back. He was around 400 - 500 miles from me. I called several shipping companies and all of them quoted me around $1500 just to ship the bike to him. It was going to cost another $1500 to bring his truck back to me. So, for 2000 miles, you are looking at a minimum of probably $2000 - $2500 one way!

I was looking at estimates to ship from Florida to CA and they ranged anywhere from $900 - $1800 for a working car, uncovered transport. Of course that was all just off some internet thing and I never went through with it so I don't know how reputable they are. This sites awesome but its sad when you find a good trade and something like this makes it not happen.

Try the local new car dealerships. They do not use "brand specific" shipping. They can put you in touch with specific shippers that they use. You know when you see a hauler full of brand new cars on them, they are contracted, so they can haul for anyone, not just car dealers. If a driver has a few spots on his truck, and he's headed in the desired direction, he can often make you a deal on the spot.